Process for removing values from oil sands



Nov. 4 1924 1,514,113

M. J. TRUMBLE PROCESS FOR REMOVING VALUES FROM OIL SAND Filed June 5 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 HTTORNL'YS.

Nov. 4- 1924. 1,514,113

M. J. TRUMBLE PROCESS FOR REMOVING VALUES FROM OIL SAND Filed June 5, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 QM. kw w vm v Rp m m mh RM A T. 2 A Q \mm fi saamu 8 \W YE? E? Em NM m V ,1 3t

II khkvww mN E MW umvk Patented Nov. 41, 1924.

Mrs!) STATES MILON J. 'TRU'MBLE, OF LOS-ANGELES, CALTFORNIAQ PROCESS FOR REMOVING VALUES raom on. sAnns.

Application filed June 5,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MILON J. TRUMBLE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented a new and useful Process for Removing Values fiom Oil Sand, of which the followin is a specification.

y invention relates to aprocess suited to treat oil sands to remove the hydrocarbon oil contained therein. 1 Oil sands occur inmany places which are so situated that they can be economically mined. It is an object of my invention to provide a process for removing the hydrocarbon oils from oil sands after they have been so mined.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a process of treating oil sand which will be especially economical and efficient.

Referring to the drawings which are for illustrative purposes only,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation partly in section of a portion of the apparatus used in carryin on my invention.

ig. 2 is a diagram of connections showing the apparatus and method of carrying on the process.

In these drawings 11 is a treater which is enclosed in suitable iheat insulated walls 12 and is supplied with oil sand through a conduit 13 having. a valve 14 therein. The oil sand is stored in the storage bin 15 from which it is delivered through crushing rolls 16 to the conduit 13. The storage bin is provided with agitating paddles 17 and the treater, is provided with agitating paddles 18. The storage bin may be heated by va steam coil 19 or by any other convenient means. The treater is provided with an injection pipe 20 having two branches 21 and 22. Vapor is taken from the treater through a pipe 25 and delivered into a sand separator 26 having a valve 27 through which sand may be dropped back into the treater 11 and also having a vapor outlet pipe 28 through which vapor may be delivered to a condenser 29.

. For the purpose of dissolving and removing the hydrocarbonoil contained in the oil sand I provide the washing plan shown in 1922. Serial No. seems.

Fig. 2 'in which 31, 32, 33, and 34 are solvent tanks, each'provided with a gauge glass 35 and each provided with aninlet valve 36 and an outlet valve 37. The outlet-valves 37 are connected into an outlet pipe 38 and the inlet valves 36' are connected into an inlet. pipe 39. The; inlet pipe 39' is connected through a valve 40 with a still 41 and through avalve 42 with a pipe 43, leading from the upper portion of the treater 11 and with a pipe 44 having avalve 45 which leads from the extreme bottom of the treater 11., The pipe 39 also connects through a valve 46 with the inlet side of a pump 47, the outlet pipe 38 also connecting with the inlet side of the-pump 47 through a valve 48. The outlet side of the pump 47 is connected through 'a pipe 50 with a heater 51 which is, connected to the pipe 21. Vapors from the still 41 are delivered by a-vapor pipe 55 into a condenser 56, the condensates being carried through a pipe 57 having a valve 58 into the tank 34. V i

In the operation of the device the tank 34 contains clean solvent at all times. The solvent in the tank 31 is very heavily diluted with a hydrocarbon oil which hasbeen recovered from the oil sand, the solvent inthe tank 32 is less heavily diluted, and the solvent in the 'tank 33 is only slightly diluted. I y

In the operation of the: invention the treater 11 is first charged with oil sand. The valve 40 being closed, the valve 36 of the tank 31 is closed and the valve 37 of the tank 31 is opened. All the'other valves 36 and 37 are closed. Solvent then flows through the pipe 38 and through the valve 48 which is open into the pump 47 being pumped through the pipe 50 into the heater 51 and through the pipe 21 into the pipe 20 through which the heated solvent is injected into the mass of oil sand carried. in the treater 11. The valve 46is closed during this action as is also thevalve in the pups 22. The oil sand may be agitated by the paddles 18 if desired. The solvent rises through the mass of oil sand flowing finallyi through'the pump and the mass of oil sand in the treater 11. The valve 48 may then'be closed, the-solvent being pumped around through the tank ll'to thoroughly dissolve in the solvent the heavy hydrocarbon oil carried in the oil sand. The valve 43 is kept closed during the circulation period. After the circulation has continued for some time and the solvent is heavily diluted w th oil from the oil sand, the valve 36 of the tank 31 and the valve 46 may be closed and the valve maybe opened. The valves 42 and are then opened and the solvent in the mass of oil sand in the treater 11 is allowed to drain through the pipe 44 through the pipe 39 and through the valve 40 into the stillv 41. As soon as the greater portion of the solvent has drained from the mass of oil sand in the treater 11, the valve 40 is closed and the valve 37 of the tank 32 is opened. The valve 48 then being opened the pump 47 draws solvent from the tank 32 and forces it through 'the mass of oil sand in the treater 11. The solvent taken from the tank 32 is less heavily dilutedwith oil than the solvent in the tank 31 but after it has been causedto circulate for a period through the oil sand in the treater 11, it also becomes heavily diluted and at the close of the circulating period, it is delivered to the tank 31 through the pipe 39 and the valve 36 of the tank '31. A portion of the contents of the tank 33 is then circulated through the oil sands the solventfrom the tank 33 being delivered to the tank 32 after it has completed itscirculation. Clean solvent from the tank 34 is then caused to circulate through the oil sand in the treater 11,,being delivered after'it has become diluted with heavy oil into the .tank 33. At the completion of'the last circulation, the valves 42, 46 and 45 are closed, the pump 47 is shut down and the valve in the pipe 21 is closed. The valve in the pipe 22 is then opened allowing steam to enter the treater 11, this steam volatilizing and carrying 01 as vapor through the pipe 25 the small amount of relatively undiluted solvent remaining in the oil-sand. a

It will thus be seen that-my process consists essentially of utilizing a solvent to wash succeeding batches of oil sand.

It will be further noted that the solvent delivered through the valve 40 into the still 41 is very heavily dilutedwith hydrocarbon oil as it has been used to wash four'batches of oil sand, i. e. this solvent was first taken Since the solvent delivered to the still 41 is very heavily diluted with hydrocarbon oil which ordinarily has ahigh boiling point, it is possible by the application of a moderate heat of the still 41 to drive off the small proportion of solvent as a vapor through the pipe condensing it in the condenser 56 and delivering it back, through the pipe 57 into the tank 34. By using a solvent of low boiling point, only a small amount of heat is needed to separate the solvent from the heavy oils forming the residuum which is finally delivered as a desired product to the pipe 60 from the still 41.

I have found that by my method of Wash ing the sand first with a hot solvent heavily diluted with oil dissolved during previous washings and then successively washing it with hot solvent of progressively lower degree of dilution that I am able to remove the oil without diluting a largebody of solvent and without leaving in the sand in the treater a heavily diluted solvent. For example the solvent in the tanks may contain the following percentages of oil namely: in tank 31 forty per cent; in tank 32 twenty per cent; in tank 33, ten per cent; and in tank 34 no per cent. In the first washing of the sand the forty per cent diluted solvent is used this solvent being diluted to eighty per cent and being then passed into the still.'

The oil sand then contains such proportion of eighty per cent diluted solvent as remains j therein after drainage.

This is further diluted with twentyper cent solvent from tank 32 which thus becomes forty per cent diluted and is delivered to the tank 31. The forty per cent diluted solvent left in the sand is diluted by ten per cent solvent from the tank 33 the twenty per cent diluted solvent resulting being delivered to the tank 32. By then washing with undiluted solvent from tank 34 a ten percent diluted solvent is produced which is delivered to the tank 33. This ten per cent diluted solventis very fluid and limpid and very nearly all of it may bedrained from the oil sand leaving only a small amount in the sand to be blown out by the steam. i

By using this process only a small amount of solvent is delivered to the still at each Washing and only a small amount of heat is required to distill the solvent ofl? from the oil. ,Also there is left in the sand only a small amount of low dilution solvent which may be blown off with very little steam.

from the tank 34 undiluted with oil and wass It is to be understood that-the percentages used to wash a batch of oil sand, being then delivered to the tank 33. 1t was then used to wash a secondbatch, being delivered to the tank 32-and after washing a third batch was delivered to the tank 31, being finally used in the first washing of a fourth batch after which it was delivered to the still 41;

of dilution given above are merely illustra tive. In practice the solvent in the various tanks 31, 32, 33, and 34 may vary-widely in the percentage of dilution from the figures given but in any case the percentage of. dilu tion is greatest in the tank 31 falling progressively to nothing in the tank 34.

It is further understood that the solvent pipes and tanks as Well as the treater 11 are heat insulated.

In the ordinary operation of the apparatus the oil sand contains suficient low boil,- ing point oils to replace thesolvent passing over into the condenser 29. In some instances it may be necessary to supply solvent from time to time to the tank 34 through a pipe 100. 'I prefer therei'ore, to use as a solvent akerosene or similar petroleum distillate. V

I claim: as my invention:

1. A process of recovering values from oil sand con'iprising: providing a plurality of storage tanks adapted to contain oil dissolved in a solvent, the first of said tanks containing solvent free froru dissolved oil, succeeding tanks containing increasing amounts of oil; circulating the solvent from the tank containing the greatest proportion of oil through a mass of oil sand to mix the solvent with further amounts of oil; delivering the product of said mixture to a still in which the low boiling point fractions of the mixture are vaporized; condensing said low boiling fractions and delivering at least a portion of the condensates so formed to said first tank to replace solvent which has been used therefrom; and thereafter successively washing the oil sand with solvents of successively lower dilution with oil.

2. A process of recovering values from oil sand comprising: providing a plurality of storage tanks adapted to contain oil dissolved in a solvent,-the first of said tanks containing solvent free from dissolved oil, succeeding wtanks containing amounts of oil; circulating the solvent from the tank containing the greatest. proportion of oil through a mass M oil sand to mix the solvent with further amounts of oil; delivering the product of said mixture to a still in which the low boiling point fractions of the mixture are vaporized; condensing said low boiling fractions and deliveringat least a portion of the condensates so formed to said first tank to replace solvent which has been used therefrom; and thereafter successively washing the oil sandwith solvents of successively lower dilution with oil, the solvent from each tank being delivered after having been'used for Washing to the tank of next higher dilution. v v

3; A process of recovering values from oil sand comprising: providing'a plurality of storage tanks adapted to contain oil dissolved in a solvent, the'first of said tanks containing solvent free from dissolved oil, succeeding tanks containing increasingamounts of oil; circulating'the solvent from the'tank containing the greatest proportion of oil through a mass of oil sand to mix the solvent with further amounts of oil; delivering the product of said mixture to a still in increasing which the low boiling point fractions of the mixture are vaporized; condensing said tank of next higher dilution and the solvents being heated to a point below their vaporizing temperature during their circulation through said oil sand.

4. A process of recoveringv hydrocarbon oils from oil sand which comprises: maintaining a plurality of stocks of solvents, each stock having a greater dilution with said hydrocarbon oil than its earlier companion; circulating a portion of each of said stocks through the oil sand to betreated, the stock of greatest dilution being circulated first and delivered after dilution to a suitable still, that portion of each of the remaining stocks so circulatedbeing delivered after circulation to the stock of next highest dilution, and maintaining the stock of lowest dilution by solvents produced by said still.

5. A process of recovering hydrocarbon oils from oil sand'which comprises: maintaining a plurality of stocks of solvents, each @stock having a greater dilution with said hydrocarbon oil than its earlier companion; heating and circulating a portion of each of said stocks through the oil sand to be treated, the stock of greatest dilution be ing circulated first and delivered after dilution to a suitable still, that portion of each of the remaining stocks so circulated being delivered after circulation to the stock of next highest dilution; and maintaining the stock of lowest dilution by solvents produced bysaid still.

6. A' process of recovering hydrocarbon oils from oil sand which comprises: maintaininga plurality of stocks of solvents, each stock having agreater dilution with said hydrocarbon oil than its earlier companicn; circulating a portion of each of said stocks through the oil sand to be treated, the stock of greatest dilution being circulated first *and delivered after dilution to. a suitable still, that portion of each of the remaining stocks so-i ciru'lated being delivered after circulation to the stock of next highest dilution; and maintaining the stock of lowest dilution by solvents produced by said still, the residuum from said still forming one of the desired products.

7 A process of recovering hydrocarbon oils from oil sand. which comprises: main-v taining-a plurality of stocks of solvents, each stock having a greater dilution with said hydrocarbon oil than its earlier companion; heating and circulating a portion of each of said stocks through the I oil sand to he treated, the stock of greatest dilution being circulated first and delivered after dilution to a suitable still, that portion of each of the 5 remaining stock. so circulated being delivered after circulation to the stock of next highest dilution; and maintaining the stock emme.

of lowest dilution by" solvents produced by said still, the residuum from said still forming one of the desired products. In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Los Angeles, California, this 31st day of May, 1922. V v V M. J. TRUMBLE. 

